Admitting that the growth of Naxalism was as much because of failure of the Union Government as for a variety of other reasons, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has underlined the need for a renewed sense of urgency to address problems afflicting the masses through a stratagem hinged on synergy of security forces and implementing agencies.
Delivering the annual Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture here on “Tirupati to Pashupati: Some reflections on the Maoist Issue”, Mr. Ramesh called for speedy completion of public welfare projects, primarily rural roads, within three to four years with a sense of urgency and a “get-it-done” attitude.
Since roads were the first target of Naxalites who killed contractors frequently to stall road construction, Mr. Ramesh said some degree of security cover by para-military agencies like the CRPF would be essential to ensure timely completion of works under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
In 25 Naxalite-intense districts the expenditure was lower than the national average and in 10 of them less than in the 60 Left Wing Extremist-affected districts of the country, Mr. Ramesh said. He also called for greater synergy between security forces and implementing agencies to speed up connectivity.
Referring to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s statement that the objective of Naxalites was to violently overthrow the Indian State rejecting parliamentary democracy, Mr. Ramesh sought to clarify that the former believed as much in the “developmental” approach.
Stressing that the Naxalites were exploiting the tribals and their region tactically for guerrilla warfare and through terror-obstructed development activities, Mr. Ramesh favoured a two-track approach in dealing with the Naxalite leadership and addressing the concerns of the people.
He, however, justified Mr. Chidambaram’s reiteration that the Centre was willing for unconditional talks with Maoists. At the same time, Mr. Ramesh conceded that tribals were victims of State apathy and provisions like reservations had little impact on their welfare.